


Impassioned Vows

by krizzlybear



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Chihayafuru, Competitive Karuta, Convoluted Shipping, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Only the Rarest of Pairs, Slow Burn, ships and characters to be added along the way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:27:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krizzlybear/pseuds/krizzlybear
Summary: A friend for life, a promise made. Eve Wakamiya engrosses herself in the world of 100 poets and competitive karuta, so she can find her family as well as herself.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Impassioned Vows

**Author's Note:**

> Please watch Chihayafuru

_Naniwa Bay, now the flower blooms, but for winter..._   
_Here comes spring, now the flower blooms..._

The crisp tone of the reader's baritone voice strongly rung through the walls of a medium-sized bedroom in northern Finland. On each side, from ceiling to floor, countless triangular felted pennants of various sizes and colours were pinned by an equally diverse assortment of tacks and nails. In all, the modest collection of commemorative flags dampened the sounds of a speaker dock placed at the edge of a messy desk.

_Here comes spring, now the flower blooms..._

In the middle of the floor, two girls kneeled, hunching over an array of plastic cards laid out in rows between them. The silver-haired girl gazed over the poems written on each card, written in fine Japanese calligraphy, internally struggling to translate each line on the fly. The more her eyes darted between one card and the next, the more she let out a worrying sigh. _This is just for fun_ , she thought to herself, _but I must not give up!_

Across from her, her foreign guest, in short, wavy dark blue hair, wiped her hands on her t-shirt that said _BAD BEAR_ , with the logo of a pink bear with sunglasses on it. Narrowed eyes of determination, she lowered herself even closer to the ground, ready to swoop in on her target.

_A whirl-_

SLAP! Before the sentence even finished being read, a streaky blur struck out towards the floor, sending a card flying towards the silver-haired girl's bed. Flinching momentarily at the sudden impact, her eyes closed. The ruffle of the other girl's pants gave way to a creak in the floor as she got up to collect the stray, finally adding it to her collection.

 _What just happened?_ Eve finally opened her eyes just in time to see her cousin return to her low, hunched kneel. It took a little bit longer for the rest of the poem to finish, and longer still for Eve to translate the Japanese in her head to her natural tongue. A difficult affair, to be sure, but a fondness for the culture made it more natural. In time, she'd be able to speak fluently, if not passably, but for now, this was enough for her to play, even if at a staggering disadvantage.

_Like a boatsman-_

SWOOSH! This time, a left hand thrust right through the air onto the edge of another card, and it glided off its place, spinning for a few moments before finally hitting Eve's knee. The other girl, in her element, and so clearly Japanese, reached over and retrieved the card from Eve's side, finally placing it in a neat pile to her side along with the previous one she took.

"I'm sendin' a card." The girl said in Japanese. Eve could understand what she was saying, but the regional dialect made it slightly awkward for her to take in. Delicately, she presented one of the cards from her side and lay it down on Eve's side of the floor. Unsure of what to do, Eve placed it to her right, on the row closest to her. She read its passage, and as she focused on it, the other cards faded away from her memory. Eve sighed.

WHACK!

STOMP!

 _Just take one card. Any card will do!_ Eve vowed to herself. She felt the trembling in her heart spread out to her hands as she saw the pile next to her kin begin to grow. Four cards became five, then became ten, and then twenty.

Fighting back tears, Eve raised her hand. "Excuse me," she said in practiced Japanese. She looked through the remaining collection of poems, most of which were on her side. She had her eye on one, and promised herself to protect it with all the spirit she could muster.

She fancied herself a retainer, tempered blade in hand, wandering alongside a carriage with a local lord inside, holding the card in question. She would have to become the samurai that she oh so loved in movies if she were to defend her lord and her pride, as a girl still in her first year of elementary school.

For what appeared to be the first time in her two-week stay, the other girl smiled. "Eve-chan, you must really like karuta, eh?"

Almost knocked out of her own fantasy, Eve collected herself and smiled back. "I can't give up now...Shi- Shi-"

"Hehe, Shicchan is fine~"

"Shicchan!" The two of them laughed, and the cards continued to pile up on the other girl's side. Yet they continued to enjoy themselves immensely.

In the end, the final poem was read, and the wavy-haired girl sent over the final card from her side. The journey in Eve's childish fantasy had come to a close. She guarded with all of her will, and yet no attack upon her lord had come. She won the battle, but she lost the game.

"Fufu, Eve-chan, you really love that poem, dontcha?"

The girl leaned forward to pick up the card that Eve had so obviously intended on protecting:

_Impassioned vows exchanged over many a tear, shed to last_   
_until the day waves crash over Mount Suenomatsu_

She handed the card over, and tears started to trickle down Eve's face.

"I tried to protect it! I really did!" Eve was almost ready to cry. The other girl shuffled across the playing field, knocking cards away to the side, and she gave her a soft hug.

"Didja know, Eve-chan? That poem's about making a promise that can never be broken!"

"R-Really?" Eve wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her hakama, gifted to her by the girl in front of her, at the beginning of her stay. She felt guilty for dirtying such wonderfully made Japanese clothes, but she couldn't help it.

"Yep! I had lots of fun visiting you, so let's make a promise, kay?"

"Right! Just like the one in the poem."

The girl whispered into Eve's ear, and they both nodded in agreement. The two pinky swore, reciting a Japanese rhyme that Eve had learned from the girl.

As the two said their goodbyes at the end of that fateful visit, they and their respective mothers, dubiously related in ways Eve would only later understand, finally parted.

##

Eve stared at the poster in front of her.

_Searching for participants!_

_Hanasakigawa High School 100 poets karuta tournament_

_Discover the joys of classical literature!_

"By any chance would you be interested in this tournament?"

The voice called out to her suddenly, and Eve turned around to see the stern visage of a mint-haired senior wearing an armband that said _Disciplinary Committee_ on it.

"Oh, Hikawa-senpai. I didn't see you there! Yes, I would be interested!"

"Fufu, I had a feeling you would."

Sayo handed her a fashionably cute guidebook about the 100 poets, printed in full-colour with explanations and illustrations meant for beginners or anyone trying to study for a test. As much as Eve enjoyed its presentation, she knew she wouldn't need it.

The promise she made long ago had finally coalesced into this starting point. The secret that Eve kept close to her heart throbbed with every memory that she had of their time together in childhood. They would meet again, and she would challenge her for the title of "Queen."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what the update schedule for this fic will be. I have other projects that I'd like to work on and/or complete, but this will fill the void left by the conclusion of Chihayafuru Season 3. Again, please watch Chihayafuru!


End file.
